The Hymns of the Rigveda - Essay Example

World Literature Lesson # 3 Journals Activity Question The hymn, Night, was categorized as CXXXVI in Rig Veda, and written by Ralph T. Griffith in the year 1896. In the hymn, night has been personified to take a godly perspective. Night is seen as something extraordinary with extraordinary characteristics, which can only be measured with a heavenly being. The above point is evident in line “with all her eyes the Goddess Night….” from the hymn (Wendy 15). Night has been portrayed to be friendly; the villagers look forward to be protected by it. It acts like a signal in the sense that when it comes out the villagers and any other creatures go back to their homes. That is exemplified in the line “the villagers sought for their homes…” from the hymn (Wendy 17). A detailed description as to how night is viewed as a protector is through a prayer. The prayer sent to night asks that the she-wolf, wolf and the thief to be kept of. In the hymn, it is evident in the line “…, keep off ….she wolf…wolf….and the thief” (Wendy 15). Question #2 In the process, of Arjuna’s weeping a conversation commences between him and Lord Krishna. Arjuna, a prince is about to go to war, moreover both warring armies are already on the battle field. The war is between Arjuna and his relatives; this fact makes him resentful (Easwaran 5). The conflict facing Arjuna is on the fact that he has to end his cousins’ tyranny by fighting them. The cousin’s had acquired and controlled a disputed empire. Arjuna becomes confused, and from this point, Lord Krishna starts a conversation with Arjuna (Easwaran 5). Lord Krishna proves to be helpful to Arjuna in terms of helping him focus his beliefs on the right thing to be done. The decision Arjuna takes is based on the reality that he is a prince and a warrior. Lord Krishna further explains vedantic and yogic philosophies to Arjuna (Easwaran 7). Arjuna’s beliefs in religion are strengthened when he is made to understand that the soul has the capability of reaching the Supreme Being. His fears of death are eradicated. Through the interaction, Arjuna comes to understand that Lord Krishna is a Supreme Being (Easwaran 9). The conflict Arjuna had transforms him to understand that a soul cannot die. Furthermore after the death of a human being the soul also transforms to a Supreme Being (Easwaran 12). Question # 3 Scenario Anwar, comes from a society that follows strict traditions, he goes to a western country for further studies. Back at home his family had designated a girl for him to marry after completing his studies, but he does not have any emotional link with her. Where he has gone to study, luckily he meets a girl; they fall in love and decide that they would get married. The dilemma is on whether Anwar to follow his heart or family tradition. The letter Dear Anwar, What weighs more? Your heart or your family. What matters most? Your love or your family traditions. The gods, gives man life once, and he lives to fall in love once with the one he loves dearly. Man lives once and man finds love once Anwar, follow your heart, follow your love. Activity # 2 Question # 1 These two works are about war verses plaintiff. None of the songs represents war in a positive light. Both songs address the troubles of the soldiers and how they suffer during wars. They are taken away from their families, and live in harsh conditions just to protect their territories (Zhou 21). Seeger’s song is a protest song against war, and it represents the ineffectiveness of war. The Chinese song, however, does not express this view. It illustrates the harsh reality of the life of a soldier (Zhou 33). Question # 2 Thoreau and Emerson ideas about the impacts of nature on the human spirit are easier to compare than to contrast. Both are proponents of Transcendentalism (Zhou 34). Both the writers believe a man can examine self and study nature, to transcend his humanity and become one with God. People should study nature to discover truths about themselves. Thoreau is mainly concerned with describing “self” more than Emerson. Emerson argues that “self” does not necessarily have to fit into the structure of the government and society (Zhou 36). Both the writers are against the Christian faith notion that man’s sinful nature must be transformed. Question # 3 In the poem Full Moon and Little Frieda, the writer points out the magic of dusky evening and a huge moon rising after the sunset (Zhou 39). It is evident that the girl from the poem is daughter to Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. There is serenity being portrayed in "A pail lifted, still and brimming – mirror, to tempt a first star to a tremor" (Zhou 45). The tone shifts from somber to anticipation, to a sigh of relief later that day. However, the mood remained same until the time of “moon’” “moon” (Zhou 53). There is exact tranquility until the words of amazement are shouted by his daughter. In the Wellfleet Sabbath, satisfaction is one of the dominant moods. The words that describe serenity and calm include “sailing through” and “softly feathered” (Zhou 63). “Shekinah” is the key word that describes the poem. Divinity that reveals itself in the external world is also represented in the internal world by Sabbath. Garrett Hongo in the Legend Poem uses words that paint a placid scene to obtain a feeling of serenity. He says there is “glow in the hollow of his cheek” to represent warmth, happiness and mind health (Zhou 67). In the fourth stanza of the poem, the writers tone changes, and become more personal, ponderous, and emotional as he comes in with commentary (Zhou 69). Activity # 3 Question # 1 The poem that I have selected, which I consider having a strong emotion is For Sean by Jenawin. The poem entails a story of a lover lamenting over the loss of a loved one. In the poem, it is interesting to note that the lover blames the angles for the loss. I appreciate the poem from the fact that it depicts the pain in which lovers go through. The poem reminded me of a time my friend lost her mother. Ultimately, the poem sound like a last speech said in a funeral of as loved one. My original Tanka and haiku You were there The first time I was here You showed me the way But I did not pay You were my guide Any down falls you didn’t mind Now you are nowhere How can I be anywhere? I thank you, through silence You taught me resilience Question # 2 Words that I would use in the description of a person I think well of are good, love, inspiring, beautiful and successful. The following are words that I would use to describe a person I think ill of hate, ugly, failure, awful and self-centered. Entries My father is a good person, and he is one of the people I consider being the most inspiring since he is my hero. In most of his undertakings, he has always been successful. My mother says that one of the reasons he married my father was because he was beautiful. I love my father both as a parent and a friend. My uncle’s wife is awful to be with she behaves in such a manner that makes one hate her. She never likes to help anyone since she is self-centered and envious. Her character makes her look ugly since she never smiles. All her negativity originated from the fact that she has always been a failure in what she does. Question # 3 Brief Parable There was once an entrepreneur who managed to maneuver his ways of business in a small town, which did not have many enterprises. His enterprise generated a lot of money, and the more he got more money the more he wanted to become richer. Some residents came up with an ill idea of robbing this entrepreneur’s properties. The entrepreneur was robbed for a long time, and he was determined eventually to give up his plan of becoming rich. He decided that he would give out whatever he still owned. He started giving out his properties to the poor and less privileged living in that town. Contrarily, he discovered in the process of giving out his properties, he got more customers visiting his enterprise. The more he gave out his properties the more he got more customers. Ultimately, he became richer while giving out his properties, when the robbers learnt of this they stop robbing immediately (Easwaran 5). Works Cited Easwaran E. The Bhagavad Gita. New York: Nilgiri Press, 2007. Print Wendy D. The Rig Veda. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2005. Print Zhou L. Chinese folk songs: for string orchestra. London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print Read More